Ranko Popović, the coach of Vojvodina FC is optimistic before the match with Novi Pazar, and hopes that his team will play on a European level, and win 3 points.

The players of the old lady will be play an away game in Novi Pazar on Saturday at 4 pm, after two consecutive wins at Karađorđe.

  • As you have seen for yourselves, Novi Pazar, as they have been announcing this whole season, both according to the lineup and the reinforcements they signed, created a team ready to fight for Europe. Our ambitions are nothing less, so from that perspective we can expect a good game. If we both teams are in condition to give what we have been planning and talking about, then it will be a European match, at least as far as we are concerned. From our side, we will do everything we can, and I hope the players will be at that level. I know we are expecting a hot atmosphere there, and that’s good, to play in such ambience, to experience the real football atmosphere. Everything should be fair, including the game, and we should be on a level that everyone expects from us, and that is to aim for the upper part of the league table as our standard, and to make sure that we get better by the game.

 

The coach of Voša also reflected on the fact that since the start of the season, Voša didn’t have a win at an away game.

  • That’s one thing I have been working on since I arrived. On the first day I came here, I said that there is no football you play at home, and football you play away. I play the football that you should play, regardless of where you play it. I want Vojvodina to have only one standard, because the points you win at home are exactly the same as the points you win away- it’s 3 points, no matter where you win them. Unfortunately we haven’t had a win away for some time, and that’s a consequence of just one negative manner of thinking, because even when I talk to the players they say- we should make our game better, especially when we play at home – and to that I say – What about when we play away, should we just switch ourselves off? If so, then it’s best if we don’t go there at all, why don’t we just sit at home and save money, lose 3 points, why go in the first place? That’s what we have been constantly working on from day 1, to change such thinking in the heads of our players. They are working, correcting their game, and we all saw these last three games. I can’t talk about what was before, but I can talk about these last three games we played away, and we really created a lot of chances, we played much better football than before, true, we didn’t end them in a victory, and that’s why we are talking about it now. If, and it didn’t, some of the chances we created ended in a goal, we would have been victorious and won a lot more points, but that didn’t happen. The reality is different, and it’s up to us to observe every next match as a motif more to end the streak of losses, and try to win. There is no better place, and don’t think that this a threat, and a better challenge than to do so in such an ambience in Novi Pazar, because then you show that you’re growing as a team, and displaying a lot more than just a victory.

Also, the coach of Vojvodina highlighted that the statistical info that Vojvodina never achieved a series of three consecutive wins in the last season is just an additional motif for victory.

  • It’s a huge motivation for us. You are there to monitor the statistics, that’s your job, mine is to be interested in the game. I move from game to game, and you count the scores after. I am interested in this game, to try to plant that thinking into the player’s mindset and their process of maturing, because we are forming and growing as a team, and I want them to think that every next match is the one. And when we implement such a code, that you play every next game to win, that’s when I think the streak will come, and then it’s up to you to count. We hope that we will give you the opportunity to count for a long time, to make it as long as possible, but it wouldn’t be right to talk about that now. We wouldn’t like the opponent to think that we are motivating them and their fans, but I honestly approach each game exactly the same, with a lot of respect for the opponent. The other day at the training session, I said to the players – Look what is says here on the building of our training center – Vojvodina FC, and that Vojvodina FC is celebrating 110 years of history, so let’s see where we fit in, let’s place ourselves in those 110 years, so that one day someone will inscribe our names there, because we achieved something, and not just say that we came and went. That’s what I would like us to work on while we are here, to stay here for a longer time, and I don’t mean just timewise, I mean let’s do something worth remembering.

It is known to the public that before the previous match, some players were not able to play, so the coach of Voša also addressed this issue:

  • The situation is varying, we still have some problems, some players whom we didn’t expect to lack, but we will see before the matchday. What is certain is that some of the players who have been here longer, like Guram or Uroš Nikolić, and some other players who are currently not able to play, there are some more who were injured during the last match. So, until we take off tomorrow, we don’t know who will be on the bus. There was one player missing yesterday, one the day before that, and one today, but we hope that those who show up, know what is expected of them, and feel happy to be there, and show that happiness on the pitch.

Finally, Ranko Popović expressed his opinion about the lineup of the opposing team, their reinforcements and expectations.

  • With the players they signed, they can really do a lot, considering their record, and everything they have achieved so far, let’s just see where they played and how many games, start from their experience, let alone talk about how much they earned, and what their market value was. Ljajić is perhaps worth more than our whole team, if we look at it that way. Once again, I have to say, we are insisting on a team, and the team should be the one to put a spotlight on a player. To say that they are a dangerous and quality team, is really undisputable, and I don’t know what kind of a coach or a person you should be to deny that. But, it’s an inspiration, another great challenge for us, how they will incorporate those players is up to them, and I don’t like to think about that. I just want to say that from my point of view, it’s always nice to have quality individuals, if they are ready to subordinate their quality to the team, and then it’s up to the team to one time highlight one player, and the next time someone else. We try to do that sometimes, and it looks really nice, and the things I talk about really happen, the team truly accentuates a player who is most ready at that given moment. I would like us to continue doing that, let the rival do their thing. It’s obvious that they have quality, but they have far more good players than just the newcomers, and that deserves respect, and is an additional motivation for us to rise to the level of all that, and have our say on the pitch.

The match between Novi Pazar and Vojvodina is scheduled for Saturday at 4 pm, and it will be broadcasted live on Arena Sport 3.